ARAR: A journalist from an Internet news site has completed his three-day sentence after being convicted by an Arar court for defamation. Khalaf Bin Juwaibir published an article on his news site claiming that a regional Health Affairs official had “beaten” a patient with heart complaints, prompting the official, who Bin Juwaibir named in his article, to lodge a complaint with the police. Despite the defendant's protestations that the case should come under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Culture and Information, Bin Juwaibir was initially given 10 days' prison and SR500 fine, a verdict later reduced to three days and SR300. However, Bin Juwaibir stands by his original article, saying that he had presented proof to the Bureau of Investigation and Prosecution and the judge hearing the case.
